Simone Biles isn’t just the most decorated Olympic gymnast in U.S. history—she’s the most decorated gymnast ever, period. She’s earned her title as the global queen of accolades, not just with her impressive medal haul but by redefining the sport itself. Her jaw-dropping feats have reshaped the Gymnastic Code of Points. At the Paris Olympics, she conquered her fifth signature move, the Yurchenko double pike (YDP), with perfection, having only named it a year ago. Now, after her third Olympic run, Simone is ready to say goodbye to this iconic skill—but her fans are not! But was it completely unexpected? Probably not.

When the Paris Olympics were underway, Simone’s coach Laurent Landi had said that the world was lucky that it was getting to witness the YDP, and it was time to appreciate that since the moment might be short-lived. Next, it was Simone herself, to have dropped the hint. Just two weeks back, she wrote on X, “Getting up and not having to think about doing a yurchenko double pike is a blessing.” Finally, that leads up to the ultimate moment.

On Instagram, Simone shared a serene moment as she sat gracefully seated on a vault, dressed in a white Athleta tracksuit and surrounded by a sea of white flowers. She was snapped at the World Championships Center, the very spot where she honed her skills. Her parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles own the place, which has been her training hub for years, where all the magic happened. With a gentle smile playing on her lips, she posted the heartfelt caption, “Rest in peace Yurchenko double pike,” marking her farewell to the iconic move.

Indeed, one-of-its-kind it is. After all, Simone is the first and only female gymnast to land this. She first debuted the vault at the 2021 US Classic. But could not get it named in Tokyo since she had to pull out. That moment finally came during the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp where it was garlanded as the ‘Biles II’ on vault. The vault gets its name after Natalia Yurchenko, a world champion for the Soviet Union and now the owner of a gymnastics club in Chicago, for its unique entry that Natalia had incorporated into it in the 1980s.

Unlike traditional vault entries, where the gymnasts dove onto the vault facing forward, the YDP involves a roundoff, which is a cartwheel-like motion where the gymnast turns sideways and places hands on the springboard. The next moves bring in that difficulty quotient associated with the vault.

The vault Simone performs has two flips in the air, which is the “double”. Next comes the “pike”, in which the gymnast folds her body at her hips and keeps her legs straight while grabbing them. So together the name indicates Yurchenko: round-off onto the springboard, then a back handspring onto the vault; Double: two flips the air, and Pike: straight legs, folded body. Precisely, it is the second flip in a piked position that makes the vault dreaded. Why?

Performing two somersaults comes with the added risk of over-rotating (which can lead to landing short) or under-rotating, resulting in a dangerous landing on a gymnast’s head. So the timing has to be impeccable and the adjustment in mid-air leaves no room for error. Not to mention, it requires strong mental focus and the ability to overcome fear. If that is not enough, add the competitive pressure to it. No wonder even Simone feels exhausted while churning this out. However, the perks of the vault are enormous, to say the least.

The International Gymnastics Federation has awarded a staggering difficulty value of 6.4 to the vault. This is the highest in the women’s Code of Points and no other so-called difficult vault commonly seen comes even close. The Cheng vault, the one that Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade specializes in, has a 5.6. Many of the world’s top gymnasts perform a double-twisting Yurchenko, which has a 5.0 difficulty score. YDP is so powerful that even Biles takes a step back after landing it—yet she still manages to outshine the competition riding just on the d-value.

At the Paris Olympics, she brought out the YDP again, snagging her third gold of the Games. But as she continued to dominate, rumors about her retirement started swirling. Simone herself had stated in the past that she was getting old and she had “more to lose”. So laying YDP to rest is the first concrete step to bid goodbye to the mats? Speculations will surely get more air. With all that, her latest post has left some fans thrilled she nailed the move one last time, while others felt a pang of sadness knowing they might never see her do it again.

The gymnastics community is not ready for Simone Biles’ farewell!

One fan stormed the comments, hailing Biles as the queen of both the vault and floor: “The vault queen… the floor queen as well.” With two Olympic medals in each event, Biles has both on lockdown, showcasing her unmatched talent. Notably, Simone has two named moves on the floor and one more vault move named after her. Another user dropped in with the obvious question.

“So you’re retiring? OMFG 😢😢😂😂 enjoy ur life Biles-Owens. you’ve done ur job,” reacting to the swirling retirement rumors after Paris. But fear not, because there is also hope of her return at the LA 2028 Olympics, as she herself said, “Never say never.”

A fan shared a heartfelt message, saying, “NOOOO!!! We’ll miss you sooo much, Simone!!! I’ve watched you for years and years! You are my idol!” It’s wild to think her journey started at just 6 years old, and by 16, she was already grabbing her first World Championships medal. Now, with 6 World All-Around titles, she’s undeniably marked an era of greatness, and fans are just not ready to say goodbye. But wait. There’s more!

via Reuters

Another fan jumped in with, “gone, but literally never forgotten,” a nod to Simone Biles’ enduring legacy. With 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship honors, her achievements are etched in gymnastics history forever. As one fan put it, “You really outdid yourself on this one,” highlighting just how far Simone Biles has come. But won’t she look to conquer her much-known weak point?

Uneven bars are historically known as Simone’s lowest points. But on July 25, she submitted a new skill on the uneven bars for evaluation to the FIG Women’s Technical Committee. The routine features a clear hip forward up to a handstand and then completing a 1.5 pirouettes around the bar while staying in the handstand position. The skill is valued at an E in difficulty score, with A considered the easiest and J the hardest. However, we did not find her pulling off the routine in Paris. Getting that named will probably bring things to a full circle.

But for now, it is all about YDP. As fans keep dropping comments like, “Lol that’s funny. Love the funeral. Did it. Done it. Goodbye. Haha” on her epic goodbye pic, we’re curious—what’s your take on the end of Simone Biles doing the Yurchenko double pike? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and let’s chat about it!